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Up until the early 2000s, Audi always did things a little differently than its countrymen. Critics and enthusiasts have sometimes criticized the designs for not being optimal, overly complicated or ill-timed. But get into a RS car – any RS car – and it’s hard not to be completely thrilled. Audi certainly pulled out the stops for it’s top of the line, quattro GmbH assembled super-sedans and avants; the great details abound. Subtly flared fenders, special bumpers, larger wheels and massive brakes, lowered ride height and signature twin exhaust became the blueprint for the RS4 and RS5 to follow and hinted at the new bar that Audi set, but under the hood lurked something special in the RS6. Like the S6 the power was derived from a V8, but in the RS6 two turbochargers boosted performance to 440 horsepower with torque to match. The power was seamless and unabated; more a freight train that never let up than a rush of power. This car is deceptively fast, so quiet and unassuming it really was the ultimate Q-ship of its time. I was lucky enough to push one of these cars to its limit when new around Le Circuit Mont Tremblant, and while it’s no lightweight sports car, the amount of speed and grip it generates is otherworldly, and it can easily keep up with many cars that should be quicker. Inside you were bathed in luxury; soft touch plastics, warm colors on the dashboard, excellent seats that managed to both be supportive and comfortable. There were small details too that helped to make the RS6 feel even more exclusive; the Alcantara headliner, alternating color piping on the leather, rich wood accents and carbon fiber details that were sprinkled in just the right proportions to make this car the ultimate Autobahn weapon:
In the high performance, exclusive world of Audi’s RS models, most enthusiasts believe they never got it quite as right as they did with the original model. Sure, the RS4s, RS6s, RS5s and TTRSs are impressive, fast and luxurious. They’ll all decimate the roads on the way to your destination, with little regard for supposedly faster marque’s badges. But there was something that was extra special and just a bit more magical about the original RS2; the first of the super wagons, the splashes of red and RS blue were like a poison dart frog – a warning to the rest of the big boys that this little wagon meant business. Packed with a special 311 horsepower Porsche-messaged version of the venerable 20 valve turbocharged inline-5, the RS2 was very special indeed. Power made it to the ground through all four wheels mated to a 6-speed manual transmission with Brembo brakes and Porsche wheels; the small chassis Audi could break 5 seconds in a 0-60 sprint and was good for over 160 m.p.h. making it one of the fastest road cars in the 1990s. About 3,000 of these cars were made, making them not quite as rare as one would expect given how infrequently we see them for sale – but there’s a stunning low mile example today on VW Vortex:
The Audi RS4 is quickly becoming the performance bargain the German cars; with revised and less understeer-prone all-wheel drive, a 6-speed manual and that unbelievable sounding V8 in a practical 4-door sedan, it’s easy to see why the RS4 would be popular. But it’s also an expensive car to maintain, and residual values from the first and second crop of owners has dropped down towards the point where third-tier owners are getting into them. The problem is that if you’re thinking about buying one of these long term, you may be better suited buying one before the typical scenario occurs with these cars – prices drop, people that can’t afford to maintain them well buy them, and when you finally get one it’s an uphill battle to try to keep it going. Today I have two examples of the venerable RS4, and the question is would you choose the popular color over one with lower miles? We’ll start with the popular color – Sprint Blue in this case:
A few weeks ago, we saw a nearly perfect low mile 1997 S6 quattro. I say nearly perfect, because it was in England and right hand drive. Well, today, we’ve got another one thanks to some searching by our reader John. This one appears to be in similar shape from what can be seen, and is another of the great rare color combinations we didn’t get much of in the U.S.. Finished in Cyclamen Pearl with S6+ wheels and that great two-tone Recaro interior, this right driver 1997 sure looks awesome to me:
For weeks we’ve been hearing non-stop about the “Polar Vortex” – a wave of Arctic air that has crippled most of the United States. For non-meteorological types, this phenomena is both unwelcome and expensive, as cold weather has induced skyrocketing heating costs and dropped nearly a full inch of snow in some parts of the South – enough to cripple most of the area until Spring Break. In response I’d like to offer both the potential cause and the potential solution: the 2007 Audi RS4. You see, one of the things that is so much fun in a quattro is doing donuts in a parking lot. My guess is that the owner of this pristine RS4 may have gotten a little exuberant with the throttle on one of these adventures in the Great White North and viola! – instant Polar Vortex.
Okay, so that may not have been the cause. But the RS4 could be the solution. It’s got heated seats, for example, to help you through frigid mornings. It’s got all-wheel drive to help you conquer that light dusting of snow, Georgia. And if all else fails and you do get stranded, it’s about as red as red gets so search and rescue crews can find you in a hurry. This is pertinent consumer advise here! In all seriousness, the claimed 1 of 99 Misano Red RS4s is pretty darn stunning no matter what the conditions:
